Jared Lorenzen’s family thankful for support from ‘class act’ Eli Manning
By Andrew Olson
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SEC football fans best remember Jared Lorenzen for his career at Kentucky, but he continued to play football after his Wildcats days were over. Lorenzen served as Eli Manning’s backup on the New York Giants 2007 team that went on to win the Super Bowl. Lorenzen’s father, Joe Lorenzen, recently shared that the family is appreciative of the support Manning has shown since his former backup’s passing.
Speaking with the New York Post, Joe recalled seeing Manning take time to shake hands with kids, including Jared’s 9-year-old son, at the funeral.
“It’s something you don’t forget as a 9-year-old,’’ Joe told The Post’s Paul Schwartz.
Joe says that Manning was a model teammate to Jared and a good friend.
“It means a lot to our whole family,’’ Joe Lorenzen said. “They’ve been a class act since Day 1. Eli has been great too, just a first-class teammate and friend.”
Joe will be pulling for Manning, who many speculate is nearing the end of his NFL career, this fall.
“I wish nothing but the best for Eli,’’ Joe said. “He is a good man. I want to say a good kid, but he is a good man. I hope he has a great year this year.”
After Jared’s passing, a video of Manning crediting his backup QB with helping make the famous “helmet catch” play possible made the rounds on social media. You can revisit that video here.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
